Cat Blog 2a

‘How we behave toward cats here below

determines our status in heaven.’

Robert A Heinlein

1 Getting involved

Have you ever spotted one of the shy feral cats and kittens who tend to live around shopping centres, hospitals and office buildings? Perhaps you felt a twinge of anxiety, wondering whether the kitten or cat belonged to anyone and whether he or she was ok.

If so, you probably have the huge heart of a feral caregiver in the making. And that kitten or cat you saw? He or she most probably does need help.

2 What is a feral or community cat?

The dictionary defines ‘feral’ as ‘wild, untamed’, but the term is often used to describe any unowned or community cat living on the streets of our cities. Some are strays that have become separated from their owners. They may have been abandoned, or lost their way, or they may have escaped due to abuse or neglect. Many are born on the streets from either formerly tame or wild mothers. They therefore don’t come into close contact with humans during the first two months of their lives, and remain ‘wild’. In other words, they’re afraid of humans.

The best way to find out how you can help, is by chatting to any of the security guards on the premises. They almost always know whether someone is caring for the community cats in the area. They will also know where the feeding stations (if any) are.

Perhaps you’ve found such a feeding station, often consisting only of a few feeding bowls and a container of water. You might want to leave a note under one of the food bowls to make contact with the caregiver. You could introduce yourself, offer to help, and provide your contact details. Or you could leave the details with the guard you chatted to.

3 Principles to bear in mind when caring for community cats

• Keep it unobtrusive. When caring for community cats, try to keep it as unobtrusive as possible, as there will always be people who don’t like cats and may object to their presence or even demand their removal. Place any dishes, tubs, crates or igloos as unobtrusively as possible, and use only neutral colours such as dark green, grey or black. In some situations, you may not be able to use bowls or igloos at all, but perhaps only one or two inconspicuous water dishes.
• Don’t remove community cats from their own environment. If possible, don’t relocate community cats, but leave them in their own environment, where they are happy and feel at home (even though it may not seem ideal to you). Also make sure as best you can that they are fed and sterilised. (Contact me or your nearest NPO if you’re experiencing problems with body corporates or landlords wanting the cats gone.)
• Enjoy them. Caring for community cats has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I don’t regret one minute or one Rand spent on them, and would gladly do it all over again!

More about food, feeding stations, shelter and sterilisation in Cat Blog 2b!

---

Cat Story 2: Huge colony in Limpopo, South Africa, need all the help we can give them!

There are approximately 400 community cats living around the University of Limpopo. For years they had to fend for themselves and were in terrible condition. Some of the kind students and members of staff did what they could to feed some of the cats. But over the long December breaks, many of the cats and especially the kittens didn’t make it.

Then, a few years ago, a compassionate and resolute woman accepted a post at the University. We’ll call her Angel. She made it her mission to feed and steri as many of the cats as possible. Every day after work, she visited 44 feeding stations, using about 40 kg of catfood daily. This labour of love took her about 5 hours every single night. She also arranged a number of steri campaigns with the help of NCat and a few awesome colleagues and outside sponsors.

Eventually though, Angel had to leave the University, and very understandably she was no longer able to support the cats financially either.

Enter the two intrepid ladies of Urban Feral Cats Polokwane, who have been valiantly trying to continue sterilising the cats at the University. This task is made much harder by the fact that they live 30 km from the University. They’re prepared to travel there twice a month to sterilise and feed when funds are available, but they’re entirely dependent on donations by the public.

They need our help!

So: If you’re able to sponsor any amount monthly towards the feeding and sterilisation of the UL community cats, the members of Urban Feral Cats Polokwane would dearly love to hear from you. Please won’t you include a comment here to let them know you will help long-term? No matter how small your contribution will be – it will make a difference! I will be sure to pass your message on to them, or to let you have their contact details so you can chat to them directly. See https://www.facebook.com/urbanferalcats for more info on them.

Banking details: NCat, FNB Sandton, branch code 250655, account 62362218440, swift code FIRNZAJJ, ref ‘Limpopo’ and your name. Any amount thus earmarked will be passed onto Polokwane immediately!

Many thanks, purrs and blessings – and please subscribe to receive an occasional email or notification!

Thanks for stopping by to chat about one of our fave topics: cats!

I’m Anneke Malan, and I’ve been loving, studying and caring for cats for the past 30 years or so. During that time I co-founded two non-profit cat welfare orgs in South Africa that are still going strong (http://catpals.co.za and http://ncat.co.za), written many guidelines and a few magazine articles about cats, and acted as guardian of a number of community (‘feral’) cat colonies. All of this has brought me happiness, fulfilment, and pure joy.

In this blog, I would like to share everything I’ve learned about our beloved cats with you in the form of responses to questions I’ve been sent in the past, or questions that I receive from YOU! So please keep your thoughts and questions coming! I will also tell you stories about specific cats or cat colonies and about new or on-going welfare projects in South Africa (see for example Cat Story 1 below).

Finally I would like to thank every cat lover, cat carer, vet and behaviourist I’ve learned from over the years. You’ve enriched my life and you’ve been a blessing in the lives of the cats I’ve been able to help.

Cat Blog 1

What do I need to know about adopting a feline companion?

So you’ve decided to adopt a kitten or a cat – perhaps your first feline companion ever – or to grow your existing cat family. You know that this is a serious decision, and that you’ll be responsible for your new family member for the rest of her or his life. And you are beyond excited!

1 Kitten or adult cat?

The first decision you need to make, is whether to adopt a kitten or an adult cat. Each of these options have definite advantages and disadvantages. If you possibly can, consider adopting an adult from a shelter, as adult cats are not most people’s first choice. They may wait in vain in a shelter for months or even years for that special person to offer them a forever home. Even more needy are black adult cats, who are frequently disregarded when new pets are chosen.

 

The advantages of adopting an adult cat are that they’ve already developed their personality, so you’ll know exactly what to expect from them. They are also a lot calmer, and so may adapt more easily to life as an indoor cat. The disadvantage is that it is a little more complicated to socialise them to a new home and especially to other animals. Provided certain processes are followed, however (see Cat Blog 3 in a week or two), adult cats can be adopted with great success.

The advantages of adopting a kitten are, of course, that a kitten will easily adapt to almost any circumstances, and will provide you with endless hours of entertainment simply by being a kitten. Kittens are extremely energetic and busy, however, and this could become a little tiring if you prefer a calm home. They also need to be kept indoors for the first several months, so watching windows and doors needs to become a daily responsibility. It’s a good idea to adopt at least two kittens, as they’ll keep one another company and entertain you with their exuberant antics.

2 Who to adopt from?

Once you’ve decided what would be the best fit for you, I would recommend that you contact welfare organisations or groups in your area and adopt through them. If possible, don’t support breeders, as so many hundreds of amazing kittens and cats that are not pure-bred end up not finding homes and either becoming strays or being put down. If you would very much like to adopt a certain breed, you’ll often find a look-alike at one of the shelters. Alternatively you could contact one of the breed societies or clubs to ask whether they have any non-purebred kittens available, or adult cats that have to be rehomed for some reason.

3 How to pick your very own feline companion

All welfare groups will encourage you to spend as much time as you need with the kittens and/or cats that are up for adoption, so that you can make sure which one (or two!) really speak to you. Never choose a cat or kitten for someone else: that person may not bond with the feline in the same way you did.

 

Once you’ve chosen your special little cat, the shelter will explain the adoption procedure to you. Ideally one of their members should visit your home before you take the cat or kitten home to ensure that your home is cat-friendly. Alternatively they may bring the cat or kitten to your home and do a home check at the same time. Different groups and shelters have different adoption procedures, but most of them will include the first inoculation and deworming, the ID microchip as well as the spay or neuter (at a much reduced fee) in your package.

3 Preparing your home for your new kitten or cat

Before your new feline companion arrives, ensure that you’ve prepared a snuggly bed or cat cave, two bowls for food and water, some safe toys, and a litter box. It would also be a good idea to sprinkle some soothing valerian powder (sold under the trade name Happy Cat (https://www.takealot.com/all?_sb=1&_r=1&qsearch=happy%20cat%20stressfree%20valerian%20powder%20-%2070g%20box&via=suggestions&_si=e75fa5704cf40a961942e9751a6ed072) around the room in which your new kitten or cat will be socialised at first. See later Cat Blogs on how to socialise your new kitten or cat to your home and to other pets.

Congratulations! You’ve just become one of the millions of hugely privileged people called cat ‘owners’. I can guarantee that, whether you’ve adopted a kitten or a cat, this will be the beginning of a new love story for you. But don’t be fooled, no cat is ever owned, although if treated with the love, care and respect they deserve, they’ll accept you completely and tacitly agree to spend the rest of their lives with you. I hope you’ll feel suitably honoured!

 

 

---

 

Cat Story 1: A feral colony in trouble!